Developing Critical Thinking Skills

This is not something our educational system or cuture seems to value. However nowadays we have access to more information than ever before, but at the same time we are more confused. This make developing critical thinking skills a higher priority for everyone. I covered problems and the causes of this problem in a previous blog post called “Education or Instruction?”. Poor critical thinking skills are so endemic that many people have lost confidence in their own ability to make decisions. Most people outsource the majority of their most important thinking to other people believing themselves incapable. I believe there’s huge room for improvement in most people , including myself and for this reason I was very excited when I came accross the Trivium and the Peace Revolution Podcast. Lacking in the ability and confidence to scrutinize information makes a person an easy target for scoundrels. The Peace Revolution Podcast aims to provide information and tools to develop skills needed for “intellectual self defence” by developing critical thinking skills.

The Trivium is one of those tools . Today the trivium is taught only in a small group of elite educational establishments. The fundamentals of the trivium are ancient, they were developed by Aristotle. The Latin word “Trivium” means “from the three ways”

1. General Grammar (Answers the question of the Who, What, Where, and the When of a subject.) Discovering and ordering facts of reality comprises basic, systematic Knowledge

The mastery of the Trivium allows for an individual to quickly assimilate information, judge its quality and turn this information into wisdom. Wisdom being knowledge that has useful application. In studying the trivium Formal Logic is a good place to start as it deals with the identification of lies, which is something we are bombarded daily. Using Formal Logic to Identify fallacies The study of Formal Logic helps understanding by rooting out contradictions and fallacies. Fallacies are not the same as lies they are information that is either deliberately or unknowingly misleading. With the trivium you can you identify fallacies and also name the type of fallacy that is being perpetrated. For a list common fallacies that you could pop in your wallet see this Mental Antivirus checklist. To see some fallacies in action see below

I currently have the Mental Antivirus checklist in my wallet and have already brought some logical rigour to some pub conversations. I provided some friends a copy of the Mental Antivirus Checklist and found that using the common approach meant we had much more meaningful dialogue than normal.

Final thought

The word trivia is derived from singular for the Trivium. It is interesting how something so important has come stand for something so…………….trivial. I’d love know how you get on with the Trivium – Drop me line in the comments! Paul

Developing Critical Thinking Skills

This is not something our educational system or cuture seems to value. However nowadays we have access to more information than ever before, but at the same time we are more confused. This make developing critical thinking skills a higher priority for everyone. I covered problems and the causes of this problem in a previous blog post called “Education or Instruction?”. Poor critical thinking skills are so endemic that many people have lost confidence in their own ability to make decisions. Most people outsource the majority of their most important thinking to other people believing themselves incapable. I believe there’s huge room for improvement in most people , including myself and for this reason I was very excited when I came accross the Trivium and the Peace Revolution Podcast. Lacking in the ability and confidence to scrutinize information makes a person an easy target for scoundrels. The Peace Revolution Podcast aims to provide information and tools to develop skills needed for “intellectual self defence” by developing critical thinking skills.

The Trivium is one of those tools . Today the trivium is taught only in a small group of elite educational establishments. The fundamentals of the trivium are ancient, they were developed by Aristotle. The Latin word “Trivium” means “from the three ways”

1. General Grammar (Answers the question of the Who, What, Where, and the When of a subject.) Discovering and ordering facts of reality comprises basic, systematic Knowledge

The mastery of the Trivium allows for an individual to quickly assimilate information, judge its quality and turn this information into wisdom. Wisdom being knowledge that has useful application. In studying the trivium Formal Logic is a good place to start as it deals with the identification of lies, which is something we are bombarded daily. Using Formal Logic to Identify fallacies The study of Formal Logic helps understanding by rooting out contradictions and fallacies. Fallacies are not the same as lies they are information that is either deliberately or unknowingly misleading. With the trivium you can you identify fallacies and also name the type of fallacy that is being perpetrated. For a list common fallacies that you could pop in your wallet see this Mental Antivirus checklist. To see some fallacies in action see below

I currently have the Mental Antivirus checklist in my wallet and have already brought some logical rigour to some pub conversations. I provided some friends a copy of the Mental Antivirus Checklist and found that using the common approach meant we had much more meaningful dialogue than normal.

Final thought

The word trivia is derived from singular for the Trivium. It is interesting how something so important has come stand for something so…………….trivial. I’d love know how you get on with the Trivium – Drop me line in the comments! Paul

Knowledge is power only if it enables action

Life is a journey through self discovery. Knowledge is power only if it enables action, Action is is only powerful if it is congruent with your values. Values are only valuable if they are questioned.

Ten years ago I decided to start to take back control of the financial decisions in my life, to stop listening to opinions of "experts" to understand the issues so I can make plans and strategies of my own.
My interest in economics lead me to conclude that over the next decade there is to be a significant shift in worldwide economic power. Over the last few years I have been making and acting on plans to mitigate the impact of this occurrence.
Over this time I have become increasingly passionate about activities that can increase personal liberty and self reliance including subjects such as internet technologies, food production, personal energy production and general preparedness.
To help me understand the issues and act on my plans I have had to improve my skills of critical thinking, research and productivity. I use the "Trivium Method" to help me separate fact from fiction and gain actionable knowledge (wisdom). I use the "getting things done method to help increase my capability to put this knowlege into action.
More about me can be found here

Paul Writes For

Pauls Business

Is your hip aching? Try these simple, helpful ways to ease hip pain and get back to living. Don’t Miss This A Weighty Problem Rest, ice, compression, and elevation can help relieve your hip pain. You may have been born with two left feet, but when your hip pain acts up, you can relieve the […]